1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to data communications, tracking, and messaging systems and, in particular, to a vehicle monitoring apparatus and method for use in connection with a tracking system or an advance notification system that both tracks vehicles and gives advance notice of impending arrivals of vehicles at particular stops. The vehicle monitoring apparatus and method of the present invention essentially track and report the status of a mobile vehicle as the vehicle travels.
2. Related Art
For at least the purposes of allowing advance preparation and scheduling, it would be desirable to know, in advance and with substantial accuracy, the expected arrival time of a mobile vehicle (for example but not limited to, a bus, truck, train, ship, plane, aircraft, etc.) at a particular location, such as a stop along a predefined route or a destination.
For example, consider a commercial bus station. A person picking up a friend or relative at the commercial bus station usually calls the bus station to find out the approximate arrival time (information which is oftentimes unavailable or unreliable) and/or arrives at the bus station prior to the scheduled arrival time of the bus, hoping that the bus is not significantly delayed. With knowledge of accurate arrival information in advance, adjustments can be made to one""s schedule to avoid having to wait extended periods for a vehicle.
Another example involves school children that ride school buses. The arrival times of school buses at scheduled stops can be significantly affected by many factors, such as maintenance problems, rush hour traffic, congested urban/suburban conditions, and adverse weather. As a result, school children typically wait at bus stops for long periods of time, oftentimes in adverse weather conditions, on unlit street corners, or in hazardous conditions near busy or secluded streets. An advance notification system that would inform the students of the school bus""s proximity would be desirable so that students can avoid having to wait for the school bus at the bus stop for extended time periods.
Yet another example involves the commercial overnight package delivery industry, wherein packages are delivered many times on a tight schedule. Customers oftentimes wait on delivery of important time-critical packages, not knowing precisely when the delivery will occur. An advance notification system that can inform a customer of the precise arrival time of a delivery vehicle would be desirable in order to improve customer service and to allow the customer to better schedule a pickup of a delivered item.
In order to alleviate the arrival time problem in the context of school buses, student notification systems have been developed in the past that use a wireless transmitter on each bus and a compatible wireless receiver inside each student home. U.S. Pat. No. 4,713,661 to Boone et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,350,969 describe systems of this type. When the school bus and its on-board transmitter come within a certain range of a particular home receiver, the transmitter sends a signal to notify the student that the school bus is nearby. While such notification systems work satisfactory under certain circumstances, nevertheless, these systems are limited by the range of the transmitters and require the purchase of relatively expensive receivers for each student. In addition, such systems provide little flexibility for providing additional information to the students, such as notifying them of the delayed arrival of a bus or alternative bus route information.
Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry for better systems, apparatuses, and methods for accurately tracking and/or reporting the status of mobile vehicles as the vehicles travel.
The present invention overcomes many inadequacies and deficiencies of the prior art, as discussed hereinbefore. In general, the present invention provides an automated computer-based apparatus and method for efficiently monitoring travel of a vehicle along a predetermined route. The apparatus and method may be used in connection with, for example but not limited to, a tracking system or an advance notification system.
In a broad sense, the automated computer-based apparatus of the present invention includes a sensor, a storage device, a communications device, and a computer processor. The sensor, for example, a satellite receiver, determines a current location value indicating a current location of a mobile vehicle. The storage device includes historical travel data pertaining to the vehicle schedule along the route. The historical travel data comprises a plurality of predetermined location values corresponding respectively with a plurality of locations along a predetermined route of travel of the mobile vehicle. The predetermined location values are respectively associated with time values stored in the storage device. The processor uses one of the plurality of predetermined location values (along with its associated time value), a current time, and a current location value received from the sensor to determine whether the vehicle is off schedule. If the vehicle is off schedule by at least a predefined amount, the processor causes the communications device to transmit a message to a remote computer, associated with a tracking system or an advance notification system, indicating that the vehicle is off schedule by a specified time and/or distance. In the context of an advance notification system, the remote computer is thus enabled to change when a party is notified of an impending arrival of the vehicle, e.g., called via a telephone, based on the off schedule message transmitted via the communications device on the vehicle.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the processor on the vehicle may be configured as an expert system. In this regard, it may be configured to create and maintain a vehicle schedule, or historical data, on-board for the vehicle by (1) periodically determining locations of the mobile vehicle, (2) storing a location value in the storage device for each of the locations, (3) determining a time value for each location, and (4) storing the time values in the storage device. Using the foregoing historical data, the vehicle apparatus can determine whether it is on or off schedule by comparing a current location and time with one or more historic locations and times.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the processor may be configured to monitor the deviation of the mobile vehicle from a predefined route and to transmit an alarm message to a remote computer when the processor determines that the vehicle has deviated from the predefined route by a predefined amount (distance, time, etc.).
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the communications device associated with the apparatus on the vehicle may be configured to selectively communicate data to a remote computer via either the voice channel and/or a control channel of a cellular network. In communicating over the control channel, the communications device can alter a mobile identification number (MIN) or an electronic serial number (ESN) to transfer data, or the communications device can append data to the end of a feature request. Use of the control channel can significantly reduce costs.
It should be emphasized that the features of the present invention can be employed for tracking and reporting on the status of virtually any type of mobile vehicle, or mobile object, including but not limited to, a bus, truck, train, ship, plane, aircraft, human being, animal, etc.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to one skilled in the art upon examination of the following detailed description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It is intended that all such features and advantages be included herein within the teachings of the present invention, as set forth herein and as sought to be protected by the claims.